Judge Jean Johnson: 1947-2013

Circuit Judge Jean Johnson, whose love for practicing from the bench and hobbies such as reading murder mysteries was trumped only by her devotion to her family, died last week after a lengthy battle with cancer. She was 66.

Judge Johnson’s husband, retired attorney Greg Johnson, said his wife served as a Duval County and circuit court judge for about 22 years, priding herself on being meticulous in her rulings, fair to all sides and humble when it came to the job she held.

“She enjoyed the intellectual challenge of the law,” said Johnson, who retired after practicing law for 35 years, including about five with his wife. “She wanted to show her independence and use her common sense and wisdom to do good.”

Her passions for the law included promoting the importance of pro-bono work being done among the circuit’s top law firms. Among her many hats was serving as the chairwoman for the 4th Judicial Circuit’s Pro Bono Committee, which encouraged lawyers to volunteer their time to give legal advice to people in need of such help.

“She thought there were people who had good cases, meritorious cases, who were losing them because they couldn’t afford a lawyer,” Johnson said. “She felt people needed proper representation.”

Judge Johnson was born in New Orleans in July 1947 and moved to Jacksonville in about 1950 with her family, where they settled in Arlington. She graduated from Terry Parker High School, then got her bachelor’s, master’s and law degrees from the University of Florida.

Before seeking her law degree, she served as then-state Sen. Bob Graham’s chief legislative assistant on the state education committee, her husband said.

After graduating law school, Judge Johnson worked for about five years in her husband’s private law firm of Rumrell and Johnson before her election to county court in 1992. While a county judge, she started the county court mediation program, where parties could informally mediate their cases without paying hefty legal fees, and a diversion program for prostitutes and young female drug addicts.

She became the first woman elected as a Circuit Court judge in the 4th Judicial Circuit — Clay, Duval and Nassau counties — in 1996 and was nearing the end of her third term when she died. Her husband noted she tackled a wide range of cases, from being the first Florida circuit judge to find a law firm committed active fraud in foreclosures to a decision overturning the death-penalty conviction of a man whose attorney and the man’s sister were involved in a relationship, among other issues.

Chief Circuit Judge Donald Moran Jr. praised Johnson for having a good demeanor while overseeing her courtroom.

“I never saw her lose her temper,” Moran said. “She always was very deliberative in her process and her reputation was she conducted a very good jury trial in both civil and criminal court. She’s going to be missed by the bar and certainly colleagues around here.”

The judge’s survivors include her three children — Alise Johnson Henry, Rebecca Johnson Weiss, Gregory William Johnson Jr. Her husband said she made sure to put her children first while trying to balance her career needs. She spent time serving as a PTA president while being an avid fan at her kids’ athletic events and recitals.

Alise is now a senior lawyer with a securities firm, Rebecca is a senior biologist for the Army Corps of Engineers and the couple’s son is a writer, Johnson said.

“Her biggest fulfillment in life, even more than being a judge, was raising very well-adjusted, very bright, very accomplished children,” Johnson said.

Judge Johnson also was a fan of traveling, fine dining and reading mystery novels from Agatha Christie to modern writers. Her husband said she’d knock off a book a day.